With more than 20 million patients annually, inguinal hernia repair is one of the most often performed surgical procedures worldwide. The lifetime risk to develop an inguinal hernia is 27-43% for men and 3-6% for women. In spite of all advances, 11% of all patients suffer from a recurrence and 10-12% from chronic pain following primary inguinal hernia repair. By developing evidence-based guidelines and recommendations, the international hernia societies aim to improve the outcome of inguinal hernia repair due to standardization of care. From a total of more than 100 different repair techniques for inguinal and femoral hernias, classified as tissue repair, open mesh repair, and laparo-endoscopic mesh repair, the new International Guidelines of the Hernia-Surge Group only recommend the totally extraperitoneal patch plasty (TEP), transabdominal preperitoneal patch plasty (TAPP), and Lichtenstein techniques. Since a generally accepted technique suitable for all inguinal hernias does not exist, surgeons should provide both an anterior open (Lichtenstein) and a posterior laparo-endoscopic (TEP or TAPP) approach option. The guidelines strongly recommend that surgeons tailor the treatment of inguinal hernias based on expertise, local/national resources, and patient- and hernia-related factors. A tailored approach in inguinal hernia repair should pay heed to the patient- and hernia-related factors, unilateral hernia in men and women, bilateral hernia, recurrent hernia, scrotal hernia, previous pelvic and lower abdominal surgery, severe cardiac or pulmonary comorbidities, and incarcerated hernia.